Overview

• An annual barometer from UNICEF France and the Fédération des acteurs de la solidarité counts at least 2,159 children, including about 500 under age three, left without accommodation after calling 115 on the night of August 18–19.
• The tally represents a rise of roughly 6% compared with 2024 and about 30% since 2022, with some reporting citing slightly higher counts and increases based on the same survey window.
• Across all callers, 6,738 people were denied a place due to full shelters, with more than a third of cases involving women alone with children and a sharp increase in such situations since 2022.
• Families describe nights in cars, buses and stations as NGOs like Utopia 56 reach capacity, with major concentrations reported in Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis, Nord, Haute-Garonne and Hérault.
• Lack of a fixed address is blocking some school enrollments, and educators report children arriving exhausted and struggling to concentrate, foreshadowing rising educational, medical and social costs.